Last night, after watching out the car windows for seemingly unending hours, we reached our destination in Rangpur; the BRAC Training & Resource Centre (BRAC-TARC). A huge facility for training BRAC staff [primarily field-based], the TARC is incredible. It has residential accommodation for 100 trainees [small children are allowed] along with additional guest rooms (for trainers and visitors like us) and training classrooms, dining hall etc. The trainings are free of cost as are the accommodations and related expenditures. At this time, 4-5 trainings are being conducted in the centre. What’s more incredible is that this is not the only facility of its kind—there are 22 TARC facilities across the country. It's the stuff of dreams for many NGOs and partially explains the high degree of loyalty that BRAC employees feel.
The morning was spent being briefed on the particulars of the TUP project. It began in 2002 in 3 districts [Rangpur is one of them] and has, so far, reached 100,000 beneficiaries (all women). They plan to reach 200,000 more beneficiaries in the next 4 years and have expanded the number of districts that they plan to cover to 42. It’s ambitious but do-able.
After lunch, we headed out to visit beneficiaries of this project in their homes. Bangladesh seems rather homogenous as a nation because of the profusion of paddy fields everywhere. Granted, they eat rice at every meal, its still amazing. Add to that they all speak the same language and are racially similar and it seems a fairly unchanging nation. The villages are interesting. In Pakistan, I am used to a village being a single cluster of houses with another village comprising of another cluster. In Bangladesh, each cluster is one part of a whole village. Therefore villages are larger, I couldn’t get an average figure but one of our hosts estimated that average size would be around 400 households, which is a large village by our standards. This function of clusters makes for interesting village design; clusters tend to be built within an area tall trees and bamboos with agricultural fields creating the separation between clusters.
The first village we went to was a mixed Hindu-Muslim community. Similar to parts of Sindh in Pakistan, the villagers were living in complete harmony and were very happy to interact with us. Pakistan is of course a pretty well known country in Bangladesh since it has only been 36 years since East Pakistan became Bangladesh. And Bengalis are pretty forgiving people—they quite like Pakistanis!
The visits were themselves very interesting. The women who have been given a start by this project have managed to be very successful in not only developing enterprises but also in uplifting themselves from such extreme poverty. Its also remarkable the degree of business acumen they display. One of the TUP members started out with 6 goats and ten hens. Through a combination of saving and selling assets (hens multiply rapidly and you can sell an asset as long as you have a replacement for it—i.e. after a goat has given birth, you retain the kid but sell an older goat), she bought first a rickshaw and then used her remaining savings as well as rent from the rickshaw to buy a cow. Her assets now include 5 goats [of which 3 are pregnant], a kid [she didn’t include the kid as a goat!], a cow, 25 hens and a rickshaw. The project allows them to save well and also to develop their enterprise appropriately so that they are benefiting from microfinance as the project intended. Some take loans for land cultivation, others buy land for a house or for new livestock, but the important thing is that they now have the capital and [perhaps, equally important] the confidence to take on such loans.
And so ended the day. I leave you with the advice of one of the senior members of our group: “Instead of getting up as if a scorpion has bitten you, ponder upon the dreams of the night before…”
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
839
And so the second day of the trip to Bangladesh began…
The first order of the day was a meeting at the BRAC headquarters in Dhaka. If you haven’t heard of BRAC and/or are interested in development practiced in a holistic manner [read: doing anything and everything], I suggest you visit the BRAC website at www.brac.net. BRAC is the biggest development organizations in the world and has the most comprehensive structure I have ever encountered. The development projects are funded primarily through BRAC commercial enterprises & microfinance—it’s an industry, to be honest. But an extremely well thought out and effective industry. Essentially it’s corporate social responsibility in reverse!
I am in Bangladesh for an exposure visit. BRAC has a project called: “Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra Poor” (CFPR-TUP) which the World Bank’s microfinance group, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) think is extremely effective and would like to pilot in Pakistan. If the two-year pilot is successful, the project will be scaled to a national level. My organisation is one of three NGOs to be selected to implement the pilot. Its exciting stuff, the idea of the programme is to target the absolutely underprivileged, those who are called “food-insecure” these days (it means exactly like it sounds). This group, the ultra-poor, is unable to even access mainstream development projects because they are so secluded and “un-empowered”. They are not clients of micro credit because they have no means to guarantee payback of even the smallest of loans.
What this project will do is provide a combination of grants, skills trainings, assets and other support services (e.g. health, legal aid) to lift the ultra-poor to a socio-economic level where they are able to develop their enterprises through the aid of traditional microfinance and take advantage of development programmes from which they have been overlooked. Its an interesting idea and, while it is still in its infancy, seems to be successful.
But I digress…before this orientation meeting started; the group took advantage of the opportunity of being on the 19th floor of the BRAC headquarters (it's a 20 story building—unbelievable—more unbelievable, its not the only one) and started snapping pictures of the view of Dhaka. The view itself is very picturesque because the building faces a lake and you see lots of greenery interspersed with lots of buildings. What stops you in your tracks is the view of an enormous slum in the middle of the lake. Rows upon rows of tin roofs closely packed together, the slum is a stark reminder that one is in a developing nation. There are only two visible means of access to the slum, a narrow road track and by boat across the lake (clearly the popular mode of transport considering the number of people using it).
Despite the presence of such slums, Dhaka is a clean city, there are no visible garbage heaps, nor is there much air pollution. The fact that a very large majority of vehicles (including buses and motor rickshaws) all run on CNG is responsible for the latter. CNG is perhaps the most sensible solution to air pollution, it is cleaner and also more economical. It’s not a permanent solution given the non-renewable factor but it's a start. I see it as giving time for renewable sources to become cheaper and more accessible. Of course, the cycle rickshaws (which to my eternal regret I did not get a chance to ride) are also a very important component of a clean environment. Inexpensive and everywhere, they are not a novelty like rides in New York, but rather a very essential part of transport in Bangladesh.
Anyways, while watching the rickshaws and other vehicles navigate the crowded roads of Dhaka, which turned into the narrow highway [the road is one lane on both sides—this is a highway?], I watched in wonder as the miles swept past but the people did not. I do not think there is a single stretch in this whole country that is not populated. After all the population density is 839 people per square kilometre! Bengalis have had to be very smart in making sure that they use up every inch of available land. And they have…throughout the route we saw endless paddy fields, interspersed with maize and other vegetables and [of all things] brick kilns a-plenty. And where there is too much water on the ground, they build their houses on stilts! An amazing resourceful people the Bengalis. Houses in rural areas, for those interested, are made of bamboo which grows everywhere (very strong and good bamboo) with corrugated tin roofs (a cheap material). Sometimes, tin is used for walls as well. I thought that tin was an awful material given how hot it would get in the summer inside such a house but it works out fine because villagers incorporate a false bamboo ceiling within the structures.
But, perhaps the most amazing structure and most visible sign of sophisticated development we saw in Bangladesh was still to come on our long trip to Rangpur; the Jamna River Bridge. It is the largest bridge in South Asia, 5 km long and one of the largest in the world. And phenomenal it is. The river itself is very, very wide (Pakistani rivers are pretty thin and non-navigable except in small boats) and putting a bridge across it is a big feat. We didn’t realise until later that no bridge [of any sort] had existed before on this stretch and people had to rely on ferries to get across. Imagine, the entire population on the northern banks was virtually cut off from the heart of the country until 1997. The northwest block of Bangladesh [therefore, unsurprisingly] is the poorest section of the country. Hence, it is the logical starting point for BRAC’s TUP project.
We also had the opportunity to visit one of BRAC’s seed farms on the way to Rangpur where they produce maize seed for the market. They also have fish hatcheries and sericulture (silk worms) at this institute. It was interesting despite the fact that we saw very little (it was night time when we reached the farm). What was great to see was that many of the employees were women—BRAC is very big on employing women and specially targeting females in all their projects.
I had been observing sophisticated development measures in Bangladesh the whole day and apart from the availability of electricity everywhere, I felt many other things (e.g. sophisticated road networks with large/broad highways for efficient goods transport) were missing. I don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing or what it indicates about Bangladesh as yet but it is an important statement, I feel, about the country’s development.
The first order of the day was a meeting at the BRAC headquarters in Dhaka. If you haven’t heard of BRAC and/or are interested in development practiced in a holistic manner [read: doing anything and everything], I suggest you visit the BRAC website at www.brac.net. BRAC is the biggest development organizations in the world and has the most comprehensive structure I have ever encountered. The development projects are funded primarily through BRAC commercial enterprises & microfinance—it’s an industry, to be honest. But an extremely well thought out and effective industry. Essentially it’s corporate social responsibility in reverse!
I am in Bangladesh for an exposure visit. BRAC has a project called: “Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra Poor” (CFPR-TUP) which the World Bank’s microfinance group, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) think is extremely effective and would like to pilot in Pakistan. If the two-year pilot is successful, the project will be scaled to a national level. My organisation is one of three NGOs to be selected to implement the pilot. Its exciting stuff, the idea of the programme is to target the absolutely underprivileged, those who are called “food-insecure” these days (it means exactly like it sounds). This group, the ultra-poor, is unable to even access mainstream development projects because they are so secluded and “un-empowered”. They are not clients of micro credit because they have no means to guarantee payback of even the smallest of loans.
What this project will do is provide a combination of grants, skills trainings, assets and other support services (e.g. health, legal aid) to lift the ultra-poor to a socio-economic level where they are able to develop their enterprises through the aid of traditional microfinance and take advantage of development programmes from which they have been overlooked. Its an interesting idea and, while it is still in its infancy, seems to be successful.
But I digress…before this orientation meeting started; the group took advantage of the opportunity of being on the 19th floor of the BRAC headquarters (it's a 20 story building—unbelievable—more unbelievable, its not the only one) and started snapping pictures of the view of Dhaka. The view itself is very picturesque because the building faces a lake and you see lots of greenery interspersed with lots of buildings. What stops you in your tracks is the view of an enormous slum in the middle of the lake. Rows upon rows of tin roofs closely packed together, the slum is a stark reminder that one is in a developing nation. There are only two visible means of access to the slum, a narrow road track and by boat across the lake (clearly the popular mode of transport considering the number of people using it).
Despite the presence of such slums, Dhaka is a clean city, there are no visible garbage heaps, nor is there much air pollution. The fact that a very large majority of vehicles (including buses and motor rickshaws) all run on CNG is responsible for the latter. CNG is perhaps the most sensible solution to air pollution, it is cleaner and also more economical. It’s not a permanent solution given the non-renewable factor but it's a start. I see it as giving time for renewable sources to become cheaper and more accessible. Of course, the cycle rickshaws (which to my eternal regret I did not get a chance to ride) are also a very important component of a clean environment. Inexpensive and everywhere, they are not a novelty like rides in New York, but rather a very essential part of transport in Bangladesh.
Anyways, while watching the rickshaws and other vehicles navigate the crowded roads of Dhaka, which turned into the narrow highway [the road is one lane on both sides—this is a highway?], I watched in wonder as the miles swept past but the people did not. I do not think there is a single stretch in this whole country that is not populated. After all the population density is 839 people per square kilometre! Bengalis have had to be very smart in making sure that they use up every inch of available land. And they have…throughout the route we saw endless paddy fields, interspersed with maize and other vegetables and [of all things] brick kilns a-plenty. And where there is too much water on the ground, they build their houses on stilts! An amazing resourceful people the Bengalis. Houses in rural areas, for those interested, are made of bamboo which grows everywhere (very strong and good bamboo) with corrugated tin roofs (a cheap material). Sometimes, tin is used for walls as well. I thought that tin was an awful material given how hot it would get in the summer inside such a house but it works out fine because villagers incorporate a false bamboo ceiling within the structures.
But, perhaps the most amazing structure and most visible sign of sophisticated development we saw in Bangladesh was still to come on our long trip to Rangpur; the Jamna River Bridge. It is the largest bridge in South Asia, 5 km long and one of the largest in the world. And phenomenal it is. The river itself is very, very wide (Pakistani rivers are pretty thin and non-navigable except in small boats) and putting a bridge across it is a big feat. We didn’t realise until later that no bridge [of any sort] had existed before on this stretch and people had to rely on ferries to get across. Imagine, the entire population on the northern banks was virtually cut off from the heart of the country until 1997. The northwest block of Bangladesh [therefore, unsurprisingly] is the poorest section of the country. Hence, it is the logical starting point for BRAC’s TUP project.
We also had the opportunity to visit one of BRAC’s seed farms on the way to Rangpur where they produce maize seed for the market. They also have fish hatcheries and sericulture (silk worms) at this institute. It was interesting despite the fact that we saw very little (it was night time when we reached the farm). What was great to see was that many of the employees were women—BRAC is very big on employing women and specially targeting females in all their projects.
I had been observing sophisticated development measures in Bangladesh the whole day and apart from the availability of electricity everywhere, I felt many other things (e.g. sophisticated road networks with large/broad highways for efficient goods transport) were missing. I don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing or what it indicates about Bangladesh as yet but it is an important statement, I feel, about the country’s development.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Bangladesh! Day One
I think it will be best if I start jotting down my notes from a day to day basis of all I have seen in this fabulous country.
Day One:
Not much to say since most of the day was spent travelling but still...
After a not so long flight and a rather long wait at Immigration, we finally set foot in Dhaka! Of course, the moment we stepped out of the airport, what greeted us was a searing blast of humidity...but nonetheless, given the high levels of excitement of the group, we were all too preoccupied taking everything in to be even the slightest bit wilted by some trifling humidity. At first glance, Bangladesh is green and very very South Asian. The only thing that visually differentiates it from Pakistan are the cycle rickshaws and the Bangla writing everywhere. The buildings are plentiful and its much like any big city across the world, somewhat congested, somewhat poor, somewhat affluent etc etc
The people are very nice and thanks to Bollywood can follow Urdu quite a bit, something to be grateful for when you realise the scarcity of English language speakers in the area. I find myself quite impressed by how everything is written in the national language rather than English at all mainstream locations, it is to be wished that Pakistan would also step out of its colonial mindset on this front.
Anyway, that's really all for now. More exciting news as we proceed further into the actual exposure trip. Up next: travelling to Rangpur and seeing the BRAC head office
Day One:
Not much to say since most of the day was spent travelling but still...
After a not so long flight and a rather long wait at Immigration, we finally set foot in Dhaka! Of course, the moment we stepped out of the airport, what greeted us was a searing blast of humidity...but nonetheless, given the high levels of excitement of the group, we were all too preoccupied taking everything in to be even the slightest bit wilted by some trifling humidity. At first glance, Bangladesh is green and very very South Asian. The only thing that visually differentiates it from Pakistan are the cycle rickshaws and the Bangla writing everywhere. The buildings are plentiful and its much like any big city across the world, somewhat congested, somewhat poor, somewhat affluent etc etc
The people are very nice and thanks to Bollywood can follow Urdu quite a bit, something to be grateful for when you realise the scarcity of English language speakers in the area. I find myself quite impressed by how everything is written in the national language rather than English at all mainstream locations, it is to be wished that Pakistan would also step out of its colonial mindset on this front.
Anyway, that's really all for now. More exciting news as we proceed further into the actual exposure trip. Up next: travelling to Rangpur and seeing the BRAC head office
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Gender, oh Gender
I'm always excited to see women running in elections. Not just the big positions, but also the smaller, lesser-known positions. I am a glass half-full kind of person when it comes to this. After all, not too long ago, the idea of suffrage was laughable and we've progressed [very rapidly] to the point that women everywhere, from all walks of life have the courage and the confidence to propel themselves to positions of power, positions of change. To me the change that is most striking is at the grassroots level--your local governance. Pakistan's provinces are divided into districts, into towns and into union councils. Each council has representation through a local. In the case of one of these, a colleague of my is the councillor for her neighbourhood. You may think that since this is a sort of side-job and not full time, it doesn't count for much but its there and she has the oppportunity to create change in her own home and among her peers in ways that women have been prevented from doing.
But its true that having women in greater positions of power, such as heads of state or presidents of large multinationals or even heads of universities is a big deal. Its the combination of both that will eventually grant women the sort of equality status [in terms of being recognised for having equal intellect and capability as men] that they seek. And we're not there yet, not even close.
I recently read an article from The Guardian by Madeline Bunting which had several key points which I think highlight particularly well how much further we have to go:
"...would President Ségolène Royal have got beyond being routinely referred to as a "glamorous mother of four"? Would President Hillary Clinton still be described as cold and calculating? Would Chancellor Merkel's leadership style still be characterised as one of "female modesty"? And would reporters be able to resist frequent comment on the clothing and hairstyles of these political leaders? Depressingly, the conventions that dominate political reporting seem to cling even more stubbornly to gender stereotypes than the political institutions themselves."
It is interesting, whats even more pointed here is the fact that the reasons why such issues still matter is because we let them matter. However, its not always true, there are pockets where leaders are simply leaders, not men not women, not black nor white, just someone who gets the job done. I think the president of Ireland, Mary McAleese is one such example or Helen Clark of New Zealand. Perhaps because they're not the leader of an all-powerful nation (e.g. America or even Germany) or of a Third World country (e.g. Liberia). And there's a long list of them, just check out Wikipedia under the headings of female heads of state or female heads of government--there's a long list.
I liked what Madeline Bunting went on to say, because it shows you how amazing women are and how savvy they are:
"But what makes the campaigns of both Royal, the socialist presidential candidate in France, and Clinton, bidding for the Democratic nomination in the US, so novel is how both these daughters of the feminist movement are deliberately using these stereotypes, pioneering a new way of women doing politics. Breaking away from a Thatcher model (adopted by Angela Merkel) of never explicitly drawing attention to the fact of one's sex, Royal and Clinton have put the fact that they are women and mothers at the centre of their campaigns. It is a fascinating experiment."
I like that rather than trying to completely ignore or, worse, trying to act in exactly an opposite manner, they have embraced the comments and taken ownership of them. Its a sign of maturity to accept what one is and work forwards from there.
At the end of the day, Bunting's summing up says it all:
"Being the first women to run for president offers a dramatic opportunity for a country to make a fresh start, a sharp break with the past. That is what thrust Michelle Bachelet into power as Chilean president a year ago. She was an icon of a new future for Chile, reconciled after its violent past and emerging from its entrenched social conservatism. Mary Robinson played something of a similar role when she became president of Ireland. Their elections transformed the image of their countries overnight. This is the big pitch of both Clinton and Royal, but there has to be a real hunger for that change - and in neither the US or France is that self-evident."
Now its just a time to wait and watch.
But its true that having women in greater positions of power, such as heads of state or presidents of large multinationals or even heads of universities is a big deal. Its the combination of both that will eventually grant women the sort of equality status [in terms of being recognised for having equal intellect and capability as men] that they seek. And we're not there yet, not even close.
I recently read an article from The Guardian by Madeline Bunting which had several key points which I think highlight particularly well how much further we have to go:
"...would President Ségolène Royal have got beyond being routinely referred to as a "glamorous mother of four"? Would President Hillary Clinton still be described as cold and calculating? Would Chancellor Merkel's leadership style still be characterised as one of "female modesty"? And would reporters be able to resist frequent comment on the clothing and hairstyles of these political leaders? Depressingly, the conventions that dominate political reporting seem to cling even more stubbornly to gender stereotypes than the political institutions themselves."
It is interesting, whats even more pointed here is the fact that the reasons why such issues still matter is because we let them matter. However, its not always true, there are pockets where leaders are simply leaders, not men not women, not black nor white, just someone who gets the job done. I think the president of Ireland, Mary McAleese is one such example or Helen Clark of New Zealand. Perhaps because they're not the leader of an all-powerful nation (e.g. America or even Germany) or of a Third World country (e.g. Liberia). And there's a long list of them, just check out Wikipedia under the headings of female heads of state or female heads of government--there's a long list.
I liked what Madeline Bunting went on to say, because it shows you how amazing women are and how savvy they are:
"But what makes the campaigns of both Royal, the socialist presidential candidate in France, and Clinton, bidding for the Democratic nomination in the US, so novel is how both these daughters of the feminist movement are deliberately using these stereotypes, pioneering a new way of women doing politics. Breaking away from a Thatcher model (adopted by Angela Merkel) of never explicitly drawing attention to the fact of one's sex, Royal and Clinton have put the fact that they are women and mothers at the centre of their campaigns. It is a fascinating experiment."
I like that rather than trying to completely ignore or, worse, trying to act in exactly an opposite manner, they have embraced the comments and taken ownership of them. Its a sign of maturity to accept what one is and work forwards from there.
At the end of the day, Bunting's summing up says it all:
"Being the first women to run for president offers a dramatic opportunity for a country to make a fresh start, a sharp break with the past. That is what thrust Michelle Bachelet into power as Chilean president a year ago. She was an icon of a new future for Chile, reconciled after its violent past and emerging from its entrenched social conservatism. Mary Robinson played something of a similar role when she became president of Ireland. Their elections transformed the image of their countries overnight. This is the big pitch of both Clinton and Royal, but there has to be a real hunger for that change - and in neither the US or France is that self-evident."
Now its just a time to wait and watch.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Music
I'm addicted to music. I listen to music all the time, literally. At work, my headphones are regularly plugged into my ears, I listen to the radio in the car and as I type right now, I am also listening. I find it soothing and it helps me focus. My taste in music varies according to mood, I confess I'm one of those people who can listen to the same song over and over again for hours (my roommate freshmen year will attest to that). Its so odd, I find when I reread/redo certain things, they have an accompanying soundtrack!
But what my blog today really ponders on is the quality that lyrics have and how they are a comment on us and on society.
I'm listening to a song which praises India. It is a typical patriotic tune, by this I mean the music has a soaring quality, makes you energised etc etc...I hope you get my drift. The lyrics are, however, what really get me. A professor of mine once talked about how Indians are patriotic to the idea of India, in the sense that they are not bound to the country because the leadership inspires loyalty but the idea that India represents (in a manner similar to Americans and the ideals of liberty, justice, etc.). This song is a perfect example of this quality. The first few lyrics read:
"Tere jaisa koi bhi nahin hai...mai gaya jahan bhi, bus teri yaad ki...sab se pyaari teri surat, pyaar hai bus tera, pyaar hi, ma tujhe salaam, ma tujhe salaam, amma tujhe salaam..."
[I apologise for the translation]: "there is no one comparable to you...wherever I sang, I always had you in my mind/memories...yours is the most beautiful countenance, I have love for only you, for you, mother greetings/peace to you, mother greetings/peace to you, Ma greetings/peace to you..."
Music is an integral part of society and it similar to art (!) reflects on the state of society in a way that is unique and very telling. Think of songs such as "God Bless America" I have to admit that patriotic songs and such like make for the most interesting study for me personally. For instance, the national anthem [we can safely say that national anthems are perhaps the most revealing about the image a country wishes to project] of Pakistan is in Farsi [Persian]? Explain that to me? What does that say about a nation that has never really identified with her Persian heritage? One that has carefully simulated an Arab/"Islamic" persona and a non-Indian one? Is it a throwback to the days when Persian was the court language before Urdu and Hindi? So many questions, rarely are there any answers on my part...and I apologize but this blog is a space for me to ponder my thoughts "out loud"
In truth, we have a sleuth of national songs, some of which aren't strictly patriotic [in the sense that they laud the country specifically] but have been ingrained into our minds as "Pakistani" songs. Perhaps the most well known and most beautiful songs is Iqbal's poem 'Lab pe Aati hai' [And here I really apologise to Dr. Iqbal for my butshering of his lyrics in translation]:
"Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
[My desires come to my lips as prayers]
Zindagi shamma ki surat ho Khudaya meri
[that my life may be as a shining/guiding light, O God]
Door duniya ka mere dam se andhera ho jaiye
[that my life may keep darkness away from this world]
Har jaga mere chamakne sai ujala ho jaiye
[May my brightness light up all dark corners]
Ho mere dum se yohe mere watan ki zeenat
[May my actions bring my country admiration]
Jistara phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
[As a flower brings magnificence to a garden]
Zindagi ho meri parwaane ki soorat ya rab
[that my life may be like that of a moth that loves light and flies into it, O God]
Ilm ki shama se ho mujko mohabat ya rab
[that I may love the light of knowledge, O God]
Ho mera kaam ghareebon ki himayat karna
[that my work may be the care of the poor]
Dardmandon se, Zaeefon se muhabbat karna
[and the care of the weak and elderly]
Mere Allah! Buraee se bachana mujhko
[O god!, save me from my sins]
Naik jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujhko."
[And help me stay on the right path]
This poem was written prior to the formation of Pakistan and quite frankly is meant to be a song about children who are the hope of the future and not just of Pakistan but for any place any where. Its a beautiful sentiment nonetheless.
As I think of more Pakistani songs that are patriotic, they make me think of the similar ideals that are espoused by the Indian song I quoted earlier:
"sohni dharti, Allah rakhe, qadm qadm abaad tujhe, tere har aik zara hum ko apni jaan se pyaari, tere dum se shaan hamaari, tjuh se naam humara, jub tuk he yeh duniya baqi, hum dekhe azad"
["O wonderful land, may God keep you vibrant at every footstep, every part of you is dear to us, our magnificence comes from you, you make our name, till the end of this world, we will be free"]
Despite Pakistan's [or more strictly the government's] somewhat desperate desire to be 'other' than India, it can be said that we haven't really succeeded, not just in trivialities like music but our general culture and the many remnants of it that have little to do with Islam but everything to do with the Subcontinent and it keeps popping out, whether we are refering to traditional superstitions (e.g. women wearing kaali poth) or whether we are referring to the celebration of spring (basant).
National identity is not formed according to new propoganda alone, it is an ever continuous process and one that cannot be deleted and changed easily. Think of Pakistan as a 59 year case study in the futility of such plans.
But what my blog today really ponders on is the quality that lyrics have and how they are a comment on us and on society.
I'm listening to a song which praises India. It is a typical patriotic tune, by this I mean the music has a soaring quality, makes you energised etc etc...I hope you get my drift. The lyrics are, however, what really get me. A professor of mine once talked about how Indians are patriotic to the idea of India, in the sense that they are not bound to the country because the leadership inspires loyalty but the idea that India represents (in a manner similar to Americans and the ideals of liberty, justice, etc.). This song is a perfect example of this quality. The first few lyrics read:
"Tere jaisa koi bhi nahin hai...mai gaya jahan bhi, bus teri yaad ki...sab se pyaari teri surat, pyaar hai bus tera, pyaar hi, ma tujhe salaam, ma tujhe salaam, amma tujhe salaam..."
[I apologise for the translation]: "there is no one comparable to you...wherever I sang, I always had you in my mind/memories...yours is the most beautiful countenance, I have love for only you, for you, mother greetings/peace to you, mother greetings/peace to you, Ma greetings/peace to you..."
Music is an integral part of society and it similar to art (!) reflects on the state of society in a way that is unique and very telling. Think of songs such as "God Bless America" I have to admit that patriotic songs and such like make for the most interesting study for me personally. For instance, the national anthem [we can safely say that national anthems are perhaps the most revealing about the image a country wishes to project] of Pakistan is in Farsi [Persian]? Explain that to me? What does that say about a nation that has never really identified with her Persian heritage? One that has carefully simulated an Arab/"Islamic" persona and a non-Indian one? Is it a throwback to the days when Persian was the court language before Urdu and Hindi? So many questions, rarely are there any answers on my part...and I apologize but this blog is a space for me to ponder my thoughts "out loud"
In truth, we have a sleuth of national songs, some of which aren't strictly patriotic [in the sense that they laud the country specifically] but have been ingrained into our minds as "Pakistani" songs. Perhaps the most well known and most beautiful songs is Iqbal's poem 'Lab pe Aati hai' [And here I really apologise to Dr. Iqbal for my butshering of his lyrics in translation]:
"Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
[My desires come to my lips as prayers]
Zindagi shamma ki surat ho Khudaya meri
[that my life may be as a shining/guiding light, O God]
Door duniya ka mere dam se andhera ho jaiye
[that my life may keep darkness away from this world]
Har jaga mere chamakne sai ujala ho jaiye
[May my brightness light up all dark corners]
Ho mere dum se yohe mere watan ki zeenat
[May my actions bring my country admiration]
Jistara phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
[As a flower brings magnificence to a garden]
Zindagi ho meri parwaane ki soorat ya rab
[that my life may be like that of a moth that loves light and flies into it, O God]
Ilm ki shama se ho mujko mohabat ya rab
[that I may love the light of knowledge, O God]
Ho mera kaam ghareebon ki himayat karna
[that my work may be the care of the poor]
Dardmandon se, Zaeefon se muhabbat karna
[and the care of the weak and elderly]
Mere Allah! Buraee se bachana mujhko
[O god!, save me from my sins]
Naik jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujhko."
[And help me stay on the right path]
This poem was written prior to the formation of Pakistan and quite frankly is meant to be a song about children who are the hope of the future and not just of Pakistan but for any place any where. Its a beautiful sentiment nonetheless.
As I think of more Pakistani songs that are patriotic, they make me think of the similar ideals that are espoused by the Indian song I quoted earlier:
"sohni dharti, Allah rakhe, qadm qadm abaad tujhe, tere har aik zara hum ko apni jaan se pyaari, tere dum se shaan hamaari, tjuh se naam humara, jub tuk he yeh duniya baqi, hum dekhe azad"
["O wonderful land, may God keep you vibrant at every footstep, every part of you is dear to us, our magnificence comes from you, you make our name, till the end of this world, we will be free"]
Despite Pakistan's [or more strictly the government's] somewhat desperate desire to be 'other' than India, it can be said that we haven't really succeeded, not just in trivialities like music but our general culture and the many remnants of it that have little to do with Islam but everything to do with the Subcontinent and it keeps popping out, whether we are refering to traditional superstitions (e.g. women wearing kaali poth) or whether we are referring to the celebration of spring (basant).
National identity is not formed according to new propoganda alone, it is an ever continuous process and one that cannot be deleted and changed easily. Think of Pakistan as a 59 year case study in the futility of such plans.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Cricket! And other things
It seems that Pakistan is in the headlines for all sorts of things these days. First its the judiciary, then its the disaapointing performance of our team in the World Cup (I mean losing to Ireland...really? Not even a Test Nation...sad sad sad) and then to cap it off the bizarre circumstances surrounding Coach Woolmer's death/murder! It seems we are destined to be in the news. And the cricket hype continues though the World Cup has lost its shine for us with our team out of the tournament. I'm voting New Zealand cause they're so solid and its high time they got it.
In other news, speak of one's preconceived notions...In the midst of militant burkha-clad women taking over libraries and kidnapping policemen, I was busy working on a proposal to open a new health clinic in our working region and went to meet some experts to get their advice and lo and behold, my counterpart at the Family Planning Association of Pakistan was a bearded anthropologist! Its always nice to see religion in such a gentle light rather than the intolerant face that is often put up to the world.
But mostly these days, I find myself disturbed by the way in which this country is progressing. The Taliban-ist elements used to be primarily the 'other' in this country, having little power in mainstream Pakistan but it seems that is changing. After all when a bunch of women hijack a library to safeguard an illegally built mosque (what a premise to start a holy building on) and then go scot-free what does iit say about a nation. Are we so willing to look the other way? What has happened to our psyche, our sense of self, our patriotism? I worry that soon I will be living in a regimented state where my dress, my social life, my life itself will be curtailed. And contrary to popular belief this is not the norm for Pakistan, we have historically been a pretty laid-back people. Where does this militancy, this intolerance stem from? Is it some deep-rooted discontent? And if so, how is this the answer? Where will it get us? I see such actions as driving away any prosperous future, if there are travel warnings now, will there be a total ban next? I find myself becoming increasingly cynical about the state of the nation on this level. Corruption one can handle, this intrinsic social set-up is an entirely different ballgame.
I often find a silver lining in my pessimistic wanderings but this I can't seem to resolve and I apologise for the pessimistic outlook but it can't be helped sometimes.
Exciting things are on the horizon with the chief justice hearings on schedule and an upcoming trip to Bangladesh for me. I look forward to the trip which is an exposure trip about microfinance to the ultra poor, your non-traditional microfinance clients. In the meantime, Karachi gets hotter by the day and the power shuts off regularly throughout the day!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Karachi, Development etc etc
I have a bit of a moral dilemma relating to workplace practices and its related to a few random comments that have started me wondering about how a lots of us students of development studies go out there in the "real world", work in NGOs and other development institutions and yet don't really practice development theories. You are, of course, free to disagree with me on this count but I think it happens. I'm not saying that we do not try to create positive sustainable change in our own small ways around the world, I think we do, but I think that a lot of the time we do this without thinking about our theoretical backgrounds.
Lets face it, a lot of our time spent in the classroom was spent disparaging the way many big development institutions (the Bank, the UN etc) work and their arrogance of believing that they could 'fix' years of injustice through their approach. And yet, I see myself today working in an organization funded by the World Bank doing many things that I would, as a student, have said were incorrect. I feel that in planning interventions very often we only lightly skim the real issues at the heart of most problems, the structural injustices etc. When, for example, we plan an intervention of supplying a village with clean drinking water there is a lot of talk about sustainability and our work not being charity but I think it often falls into the category of charity.Its not easy to change the habits and mindsets of people who are poor and have for so long been given things for free. How do you truly get them to take ownership, which will ultimately be what changes their lives more so than any water scheme that we may implement? No matter how much I know the importance of this as do my coworkers there is always the talk of deadlines and getting it all done within the timeframe given by donors. Then, how can I say that I am truly working in development?
I left this blog at that point a few days ago, a little bit disheartened that I had so soon given up on the ideals. But in a show of optimism, my faith is renewed by further conversations and interactions. Development is no single cookie cutter solution. It has a myriad of faces and names. Is what I do part of that myriad? I think so, because I think ultimately even the fact that I am thinking about sustainable futures and how to help development succeed is a positive factor in this progress. I am not implementing development or creating it; the will and means of development already exist, I am simply giving it a helping hand by removing some of the obstacles. And even the ownership issue that I had despaired of has been showing signs of life. One of the villages where we were convinced no activism would take place has now become a beacon of activism. They have shown initiative to further enhance the tools we have handed them.
So is development a lost cause, I hope not and on a deeper level, I know not. Its not in small pockets that change has begun but all over the world that people like me are struggling and overcoming obstacles impeding global equity and justice. I have a vision of this world shared by many and I have faith that this vision has a chance of succeeding.
Lets face it, a lot of our time spent in the classroom was spent disparaging the way many big development institutions (the Bank, the UN etc) work and their arrogance of believing that they could 'fix' years of injustice through their approach. And yet, I see myself today working in an organization funded by the World Bank doing many things that I would, as a student, have said were incorrect. I feel that in planning interventions very often we only lightly skim the real issues at the heart of most problems, the structural injustices etc. When, for example, we plan an intervention of supplying a village with clean drinking water there is a lot of talk about sustainability and our work not being charity but I think it often falls into the category of charity.Its not easy to change the habits and mindsets of people who are poor and have for so long been given things for free. How do you truly get them to take ownership, which will ultimately be what changes their lives more so than any water scheme that we may implement? No matter how much I know the importance of this as do my coworkers there is always the talk of deadlines and getting it all done within the timeframe given by donors. Then, how can I say that I am truly working in development?
I left this blog at that point a few days ago, a little bit disheartened that I had so soon given up on the ideals. But in a show of optimism, my faith is renewed by further conversations and interactions. Development is no single cookie cutter solution. It has a myriad of faces and names. Is what I do part of that myriad? I think so, because I think ultimately even the fact that I am thinking about sustainable futures and how to help development succeed is a positive factor in this progress. I am not implementing development or creating it; the will and means of development already exist, I am simply giving it a helping hand by removing some of the obstacles. And even the ownership issue that I had despaired of has been showing signs of life. One of the villages where we were convinced no activism would take place has now become a beacon of activism. They have shown initiative to further enhance the tools we have handed them.
So is development a lost cause, I hope not and on a deeper level, I know not. Its not in small pockets that change has begun but all over the world that people like me are struggling and overcoming obstacles impeding global equity and justice. I have a vision of this world shared by many and I have faith that this vision has a chance of succeeding.
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